Asher Roth, ‘The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 2′ – Mixtape Review

After finding widespread success with his 2009 single, 'College,' Asher Roth seemingly dropped from the music scene as he took a brief hiatus. Now he's back with 'The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 2,' returning with the same formula that helped him find success with his 2008 mixtape, 'The Greenhouse Effect.

This mixtape, hosted by DJ Drama and Don Cannon, features a good mix of single-worthy songs and freestyles. Listeners are engaged after hearing an interesting mix of old '80s samples combined with some hits of today.

Once the first track, ‘Maybe I Don’t Wanna,’ is heard, it's apparent this tape is different from what's out at the moment. The song has feature credits from Tom Petty, SWV and the Beach Boys, then it's paired with a light trap beat.

‘Party Girl’ is a favorite on the tape, sampling the Eddie Murphy and Rick James classic hit from the '80s, ‘Party All the Time.’ With Lil Wayne added to the song, there's no reason why this shouldn't stand as Roth’s return to radio in the near future. Who doesn’t love this track?

‘Healer’ also stands out as a solid track, with a '70’s twist added to the beat. The robotic hook, very interesting at that, delivers the eerie claim of “We ain’t dead, we been living through your internet.”

This project takes an odd but welcoming turn towards the middle in a way only Asher Roth can get away with. ‘Apples & Bananas’ samples every kid’s favorite fruit song of the same name. Roth sings “I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas” -- remember Barney singing this back in the day? Believe it or not, it actually sounds good within the song, and doesn’t seem all the way out of place.

Roth really shows his rapping skills in songs like ‘A-One,' ‘Numbers' and ‘Pop Radio.' And his freestyle over ‘Blurred Lines’ really matches the song perfectly -- he can be added without even losing a beat.

‘Actin Up,’ which also features Justin Bieber and Chris Brown on the same track, boasts an EDM-flavored beat. With those two superstars on it as well, the song is sure to be all over pop radio before the summer ends.

Overall, this effort is a noteworthy comeback for Asher Roth. He shows his versatility, being goofy on some tracks while getting serious on others. With the amount of successful white rappers at an all-time high -- MGK, Yelawolf and Macklemore -- Roth really has to find his place in today’s hip-hop, though he has a reputable catalog.

'The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 2' is his way to put himself back on the map.